West Brom's long search for a new manager ends with Alan Irvine. Interesting that it gets announced on an England match day as well.
Looks like they are trying the same as us, going for someone with recent youth coaching experience to bring the kids through into the team
Irvine has some previous coaching experience with Preston and Sheffield Wednesday, but both ended in the sack. Would anyone rather City signed him instead of Neil Adams? I wouldn't.
I'm sure from the outside many clubs would have thought that we'd taken the cheap option with Adams, so it's one of those risks more clubs seem to be trying. Proven managers come with big contracts and fail just as easily.
Adams is I feel slightly different, he was already at the club and had already assumed the responsibility for the 1st team before the season ended; the Irvine appointment is like Adams being appointed manager by a different championship club. Another interesting point is that the with the appointments at Southampton and West Brom the line up of Premier league managers is probably sorted for the start of the season, meaning that the rest of our supposed short list (Lennon, Malky, Zola, Sherwood) and Hughton haven't secured a position anywhere at a time where in the PL for the coming season. This seems to imply that they are not necessarily stand out candidates, maybe they have and inflated sense of their value which is preventing them from signing a deal or that there is something else that is preventing them from getting a job, lets call it Curbishley syndrome.
I am inclined to agree that they all remain out of work come August but I dare say that each and every one of them will be in a football managerial role before the end of 2014. Perhaps not in the PL, but no lower than Championship level
Leeds' appointment of Dave Hockaday who has a seemingly average to poor record in the conference premier must be the ultimate cheap option.
Have to say that Leeds one has amazed me. I might be in for a shout for a championship club at this rate. I'd even work for beer.
God knows what is happening at Leeds. It seems they have appointed Junior lewis as coach. To think some of us were thinking we went for the cheap option.
